18 EASTERN COURIER, NOVEMBER 3, 2010
NEWS
Red Frogs leap into caring
Good Samaritan: Jess Holdaway is passionate about helping youth through Red Frogs. Photo: NICOLA WILLIAMS
By NICOLA WILLIAMS
Red Frogs are guardian angels.
The team of volunteers act as
a safety net for youth at events
where drink and drugs could
lead to serious problems.
Meadowlands resident Jess
Holdaway is one of the team
keeping tabs on the vulnerable
at events like dance parties and
raves.
We look after the ones that
get kicked out or the ones that
can't even get in because they
are too wasted,'' she says.
We look after kids who are
injured or who have lost their
friends or their possessions or
don't have a ride home.
We are a safety net for those
kids and even those adults who
are too intoxicated and just
don't know what to do.''
Red Frogs has been around
for about a year after a group of
young people from Mrs Hold-
away's Mt Eden church caught
wind of the Australian service.
They have a massive team in
Australia and we went over
during schoolies week to see
what it was like.
We got so passionate about
what we saw that we decided to
get the ball rolling here.''
The week-long event on the
Gold Coast for school leavers is
notorious for binge-drinking
parties. Red Frogs keep tabs on
everyone and roam hostels to
provide pancakes for the
hungover.
Mrs Holdaway says party
organisers are always keen to
have Red Frogs at their events.
They are involved with uni-
versity orientation weeks and
hostel pub crawls.
Red Frog hydration stations
are set up at events to provide
water and sweets.
They are a watchful eye and a
shoulder to cry on when things
go wrong.
We're not an authority fig-
ure, we're more a trustworthy
friend,'' she says.
The 21-year-old church youth
worker says she is surprised to
see how often young people get
ditched by their friends during
the course of the night.
She loves the work and the
contribution the team makes,
she says.
It's really caring about our
generation. People can just die
from stupid mistakes if no one
is there to help them which
really breaks my heart.
Like the Kings boy that died.
If someone sat with him and
helped him out he could be alive
-- he could be a future prime
minister or sportsman and it's
all gone because of one night.''
The Red Frogs team would
also like to offer their services
to school after-balls.
For me I see so much poten-
tial in youth and I just care
about them so much,'' Mrs
Holdaway says.
It's about safeguarding our
generation.''
Shoplifting blitz
Shoplifters take note:
You're about to be
blitzed.
Officers from Counties
Manukau's mobile police
station are hitting three
shopping centres in a
six-week crackdown on
the crime.
They'll patrol South-
mall, Westfield Manu-
kau and Manukau
SupaCentre as part of a
shoplifting prevention
blitz using high visi-
bility policing'', senior
sergeant Steve Greally
says.
Officers are taking a
zero tolerance attitude
towards anyone nabbed
shoplifting.
Shop owners and staff
are also being encour-
aged to go to the mobile
unit if they have
shoplifting problems, Mr
Greally says.
Music and moods study
Mood researcher: Massey University's Setareh Mokhtari needs help in an
upcoming study on how mood affects your outlook on life.
By SARAH CODDINGTON
Setareh Mokhtari is investigating
the link between mood and percep-
tion.
The Massey University psy-
chology researcher says feeling
happy or sad not only affects the
way we see the world but also the
speed we process visual images.
Ms Mokhtari is also interested in
how moods affect the way we see
people's facial expressions.
At the Albany campus she tests
people's responses to different facial
features and moods after they listen
to pieces of music.
Ms Mokhtari tested 57 people
after they listened to sad or happy
music. Those who listened to sad
music were slower in piecing
together visual information than
those who listened to cheerful tunes.
The results were presented at a
psychology conference in Mel-
bourne. Ms Mokhtari needs more
participantsfor a one-hour lab study
where they will listen to mood music
and carry out computer-based tasks.
Email setareh.mokhtari.1@uni.
massey.ac.nz or cognition.study@
yahoo.com if you are interested in
taking part in the study.